‘So, is Erin Santos a psychopath, Dr Wainwright? In yourprofessional diagnosis?’
He isn’t blinking. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that psychopaths blink less than neurotypicals do.
‘A psychopath…? No… I don’t believe so. She wasn’t highly narcissistic, and she wasn’t sadistic. Her dissociative identity disorder and the drug-induced delusions were not a good mix, however. I suspect she killed her victim in a bid to free herself on some emotional level, to absolve herself of the guilt and torment she felt about her mother. She wanted a chance to rewrite the script and change the ending, if you will. Ironically, these actions did nothing to prevent the pain of her remorse, they merely transferred it.’
‘Transferred it?’
‘Throughout her time here at Larksmere, Erin displayed deep regret over the death of Mr Radulovic. I believe she had a genuine conscience about her actions. But Samantha? Less so. Being Samantha allowed her to indulge in the fantasy of revenge – I suspect to get back at the men who’d wronged her, her mother’s killer, for example – which of course regrettably became a reality. At the start of Erin’s journey with us, she blamed Samantha Valentine, and, I feel I should say, the police, for what had happened to her.’ He smiles a little apologetically. ‘She never once deviated from this narrative, not until about a year or so ago anyway, incidentally, when she began to find faith.’ He smiles warmly, as though this pleases him. ‘We are, none of us, passive observers of reality, Detective; we are simply narrators. The brain invents stories that may wellfeeltrue or real, but oftentimes are based upon our cognitive biases, unhealed wounds and emotional residue.’
‘So we are all of us liars? Is this what you’re saying, Doctor?’
He chuckles, good-naturedly.
‘No, not exactly.’
‘Dr Wainwright, did you ever, at any given point during your interactions with Erin, believe she was telling the truth about Samantha Valentine? Did you ever consider that she could, in fact, be a real person and that Erin wasn’t making her up?’
He sits, motionless for a moment before stroking his beard.
‘I’m sorry, DCI Riley, DS Davis, but perhaps you’d be good enough to explain thedirectpurpose of your visit here today? I am, of course, most happy to assist the police in any way I can, but it would help me to understand the nature of your questions, and how to answer them correctly.’
I detect a hint of discomfort in his voice now.
‘Well, a straight yes or no would be helpful, Doctor. You see, we arrested a female suspect in the murder of Milo Harrisonlast Thursday night, at his apartment in South West London. He was stabbed to death in an almost identical crime to the one Erin Santos committed seven years ago, a crime which saw her end up here, in your care. Seven years later, our current female suspect says that she stabbed Milo Harrison while also protecting her friend, Samantha Valentine, in what appears to be an almost identical crime to Erin’s.’
I hear his sharp intake of breath. He’s still not blinking.
‘And this happened last week? Does…’ He clears his throat, clearly rattled by what I’m telling him. ‘Does Erin have analibifor the murder?’
‘Of sorts. But we’re waiting on forensics to tell us more.’
He brings his fingers into a praying position and presses them to his lips.
‘And because of this new, similar crime, you think this means Samantha Valentine could actually be a real person? Because that’s not possible, Detective Riley.’ He shakes his head. ‘Good God.’ He stands abruptly. ‘This is… this is adisaster… the governors… the press… Oh, Lord, we’ve only just released her…’ He’s talking to himself as he starts to pace the room – they say it’s the first sign of madness.
‘I’m sorry, Detective Riley—’ He stops. ‘But I need to make some urgent phone calls.’
‘Why is it not possible for Samantha Valentine to be real, Dr Wainwright? And please, sit down, there’s no need to panic about this. Erin isn’t a suspect, currently. We just need to find her, talk to her.’
‘Isn’t she?’ His calm, slightly elevated composure of moments earlier has completely vanished. ‘Erin SantosisSamantha Valentine, Detective Riley, the two co-exist inside her mind, they’re intertwined, two parts of the same person. If Samantha Valentine was at that crime scene, then so was Erin, it would be physiologically impossible for her not to be.’
The sudden sound of Davis’s phone ringing cuts right through his words.
‘It’s forensics, gov.’ She places her hand over the phone. ‘There’s a hit… DNA found at the scene belonging to…’ She stops, looks over at us.
‘Oh, dear Lord…’ Dr Wainwright’s voice has an edge of fear to it as Lucy slowly begins to nod her head.
TWENTY-EIGHT
DAN
There was just one last place Davis and I had needed to cross off the list before we left Leeds and headed back to London.
‘Nowthere’sa name from the past I haven’t thought of in a while. Of course I remember her.’ Jeremy Austin, one of the directors at Austin Marz Productions, had looked genuinely surprised. ‘The girl who worked here on reception for a short time, you mean? The one who ended up in prison for murder?’
‘Manslaughter actually,’ I found myself correcting him, ‘and she “ended up” in Larksmere Hospital.’
He raises his eyes – that place needs no introduction.
